The BRICS Summit in New Delhi (Sept 12–13) wasn’t just about political speeches. From viral car rides to retro Bollywood tunes, here is a roundup of what everyone was talking about online and across the Capital:
‘Carplomacy’
PM Narendra Modi personally drove and rode with Russian President Vladimir Putin to Bharat Mandapam in an armored vehicle. The internet immediately named it “Carplomacy,” filling social feeds with “Get in, we’re building a multi-polar world” car memes.
A bookish gesture
PM Modi presented Putin with a Russian translation of the ancient Tamil classic Thirukkural, starting a mini-trend of posts about literary gifts on book-lover circles online.
The diplomat in the background
A picture of Modi, Putin, and Xi Jinping went viral for an unexpected reason: people wanted to know who the Indian officer in the background was. Turns out, it was Sidharth Babu, a 36-year-old IFS officer from Kochi, Kerala. An engineering graduate and current Deputy Secretary in the East Asia Division, his fluency in Mandarin puts him right in the middle of high-level meetings.
Vegetarian dinner and the internet debate
The state dinner menu focused on regional dishes and millets, serving items like paneer lababdar, gucchi, millet pulao, and thakkali belle saaru. When the all-vegetarian menu caused a political debate online, former Iceland President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson jumped in on X (formerly Twitter) with a viral post viewed over 600k times. He recalled serving an all-vegetarian meal to former President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2005: “More than 20 years ago! And in Iceland where it is not easy to be vegetarian!!”
Birthday cake at Taj and dinner at ITC Maurya
Louise Araneta-Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines, posted pictures from her stay at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi. Her photos showed Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cutting a three-tiered Beatles cake for his birthday on September 13. She posted a big “thank you” to the hotel staff and embassy team, along with pictures from her dinner at the iconic Bukhara restaurant inside ITC Maurya.
Karaoke diplomacy
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim provided the main entertainment at the gala dinner. He stepped up to perform Kishore Kumar’s 1965 song “Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat” from the movie Teen Devian, bringing a fun Bollywood touch to the evening.
Viral airport handshakes
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is winning praise online after a video showed him thanking the Indian chauffeur who drove him to the airport before he left New Delhi, garnering 600k views. Sheikh Khaled was in the capital representing UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the 18th BRICS Summit. In the viral video, Sheikh Khaled is seen greeting dignitaries at the airport before turning back towards his car. He then shakes hands with the chauffeur and briefly speaks to him before leaving, with the gesture drawing praise from social media users for personally acknowledging the driver.
Sheikh Khaled’s gesture comes days after another viral moment involving Russian President Vladimir Putin during his India on September 11. The President landed in New Delhi, aboard a Russian Air Force Ilyushin IL-96-300PU state aircraft, nicknamed the “Flying Kremlin”. A video of him warmly shaking hands with a flight attendant also went viral online, drawing attention as world leaders arrived in the capital for the summit.
